by Joe Jackson
Waiting at the bus station the next afternoon, his bag in his hand, Michael learned from Cris Martinez that Coach Anderson had received a promotion at the mill.
“It’s a better job than the one he was supposed to get,” Cris bragged. “You think Josh spoke to his father?”
“I don’t know,” Michael confessed. He definitely knew Mr. Miller had overheard coach’s talk to his team. Maybe Josh’s Dad had re-considered what he had done and decided to provide coach with an even better opportunity. Regardless, Michael felt very good about it.
A silent, grim team took the field against Marshall that night. Josh pitched the greatest game of his life, with a no-hitter going into the sixth inning. Even the Marshall crowd cheered him on as he mowed down the batters.
The team gave him magnificent support the entire game, with no errors committed anywhere in the field. The batter, who finally made the Redbird’s lone hit in the sixth to break up Josh’s no-hitter, was thrown out at second by at least three feet when he tried to steal the base.
Josh ended up with a one hit shut out, and the Cougars beat the Marshall Redbirds by a score of 5 to 0. Jake and Matthew each hit home runs.
The Cougars returned to Springdale with two victories in the district playoffs and now only four teams remained out of the sixteen original competitors.
On the way home, Willie Brown said to Michael, “We’re still in there, Michael. We still have a chance.”
Michael nodded. They had a chance, but their prospects of reaching the finals seemed as far away as that distant star which had shined above Coach Anderson’s head when he gave his team speech.
However, Michael had noticed a difference in the players. Matthew no longer looked at Ethan with open contempt. They were not friendly, but there was a difference. Jake had not bragged of his home run on the way back to Springdale that night. Instead, Jake talked up Josh’s magnificent pitching.
Carlos said slowly, “He pitched great baseball. I’ve never seen him pitch a better game.”
There was a difference, but it had not unified as coach wanted. The spirit was not there, though it was a lot better than it had been. Michael could only hope that a team with one of the finest boy pitchers in the country and some truly fine hitters might make it, even if it lacked the team spirit or unity Coach Anderson said they needed.
Four nights later, playing a tournament game on their own home field, they whipped a very good Springville team by a 4 to 2 score. Josh again came through with a fine performance.
This time Michael and Ethan led the attack, each with two hits. It was Ethan’s double in the sixth with two runners on that broke the game wide open, delivering the Cougars the win.
Matthew had been on base when Ethan came through with that clutch hit and Michael saw the expression on the redhead’s face as he crossed home plate with the final run. Davis had always questioned Ethan’s nerve, but Ethan had proved with that ringing base hit that he could stand up with the best of them in the pinch.
They were in the finals of the district tournament now, with Springdale wild about its Little League team. The local paper was giving their games front-page coverage and the television sports news coverage was very positive. Bigger crowds were showing up, many from distant towns and cities to watch these finals.
The district final between Springdale and Vulcan City, played on Vulcan City’s field, drew double the crowd they had usually been getting. Coach Anderson, wishing to give the over-worked Josh Miller a rest, started Willie Brown on the mound, with Josh in the bullpen. Willie surprised everyone by pitching a gem for five innings. In the sixth inning, Josh came in to relieve him with the score 3 to 1 for the Cougars, two runs having come in on Tyrone Johnson’s tremendous home run over the center field fence in the fourth.
Josh put the Vulcan City rally on ice and the Cougars found themselves district champions, eligible to play in the sectional tournament. There were only eight section winners and that meant the Cougars only had to win three more games to move into that coveted circle of teams that went to the regional tournament for the final play offs before Williamsport.
A joy-crazed Cougar team returned to Springdale after the Vulcan City win. All the way back on the bus that night the boys were shouting, cheering.
“You know what this means?” Andy Wilson whooped. “We’ll be traveling on trains and planes now, playing in distant cities….”
“Until we’re eliminated,” Jake pointed out. “It may be after the first game.”
“Oh, no, we’re not being eliminated,” Andy howled. “We’re doing the eliminating, we’re going to Williamsport.”
Michael sat up in the front of the bus with Coach Anderson. Going to Williamsport still did not seem possible to him. They had come through as district champions, now scheduled to play for the sectional championship. The Little League organization divided the United States into eight large territories covering several states, also known as regions. A Little League team, therefore, had to win it’s district, it’s sectional, and then it’s regional championship to earn the right to go to Williamsport for the Little League World Series Championship Tournament.
Coach was saying, “Mr. Miller gave me permission to take off all the time I needed for these play-off games. The parents of all the boys have agreed to let them travel, so we are all set to go.”
“You think we’ll go all the way?” Michael asked him.
Coach smiled. “We have a great pitcher in Josh Miller,” he said, “and a very good team. We should go pretty far.”
The next two weeks were nightmares for Michael. He could not even remember what he ate. He moved around the house in a dazed fog when the Cougars were not playing or traveling to play other sectional winners.
They edged out a sparkling Southern Hills team in the sixth inning when Daniel Garcia stole home with the score tied. Then they won a crazy game by an 11 to 10 score, with Willie Brown run off the mound early and Josh Miller coming in to hold off the enemy until the final out. It was a very offensive game on both sides and the game came down to who had the last bat. Fortunately, it was the Cougars, but oh, how close it was.
The sectional championship came around and it was another exciting ballgame. Josh pitched, allowed two hits and the Cougars won by a 1 to 0 score. Carlos tripled in the sixth with Matthew Davis on first and that represented the only run of the game. Now, just three more wins for a trip to Williamsport.
“This is a ball team,” Coach Anderson said in a television interview with pride after the close sectional championship win. “When we need hits we get them; when we need pitching, we get that too. You can’t whip a club like that.”
They seemed to be unbeatable too. They went on to win the first game in the regional play off, rather easily for a change, by a score of 6 to 2.
Willie Brown said to Michael after that win, “Do you realize we’re only two games away from the Little League World Series in Williamsport?”
“Keep your fingers crossed,” Michael laughed nervously.
It was true, though. If they beat two more teams, they would go to Williamsport with seven other regional winners from the United States and the eight international winners from across the globe to play in the Little League World Series. It was unbelievable, but it was true.
Michael could feel the tension as they prepared for the next ball game. They were all feeling it now and it heightened from the excitement in town. More and more buses were traveling with the team when it left for out-of-town games; bigger crowds came to watch the home games and they were so enthusiastic, making lots of noise.
They had another team picture in the paper and all of the games televised. Each player on the team received a new pair of baseball shoes with the molded cleat design from Mr. Miller. Daniel Garcia claimed the new shoes were going to make him run much faster. Mr. Miller also sent down a dozen new bats for them. He offered to send a trainer to accompany the team, to keep them conditioned, and coach laughingly had to refuse. Even Dusty Taylor, the former big leaguer, h
ad called coach to let coach know he would help any way he could if needed.
They nearly lost the next game, which would have broken the bubble and eliminated them from further play. It was another tight game and they were leading by a 2 to 1 score going into the last half of the sixth inning. Josh disposed of the first two batters and with the bases empty and two away, the big Springdale contingent that had accompanied the team, started to make some noise.
An enemy batter, however, suddenly lined a triple to deep left field, and the tying run was on third base. Coach Anderson called for time and walked out to the mound to talk with Josh.
Josh threw one pitch to the next batter and he slapped the ball into right field.
Michael turned to watch it go, his heart sinking into his new shoes. The hard hit ball sailed toward the fence with Jake Jones chasing it on his short stubby legs. Jake had his back toward the infield and it seemed to Michael that he was running as fast as Daniel Garcia, the fastest runner on the team.
The opposing team was shrieking in the dugout as the ball started falling towards the low fence; then Jake leaped, reaching up with one hand. The ball struck his glove, the brown glove closed around the white ball as Jake hit the fence, collapsing at the base of it with the ball still in the glove, and the game was over.
The Cougars carried Jake from the field that afternoon, grinning, bruised, the happiest boy in America. Jake yelled at Mr. Miller, “Thank you for the shoes.” Mr. Miller leaned back laughing, pointing his cigar stub at Jake.
Winning their regional title a few days later was anti-climatic, a much easier victory than the first two games of the three they had to win for this play off title.
Coach Anderson started Willie Brown and Willie pitched steady, dependable ball, allowing three runs. The Cougar bats were sizzling hot, driving in eight runs to give them an 8 to 4 victory.
Andy Wilson said, as they were climbing into the bus still flushed with the victory and a little stunned at their success,
“We go to Williamsport for the Little League World Series next week. Can you believe that?”
They were hardly able to accept the fact. Next week in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, eight regional victors from the United States were going to meet in one bracket and eight International team victors in another bracket. This format would be different, unlike any other tournament they had played in. Each team would play a minimum of three games, with the winners of each double-elimination bracket playing for the Little League World Championship in a single elimination game. Only five victories separated the Cougars from the World championship. The sixteen finest Little League teams in the world were getting ready to play in Williamsport.
Michael rode home in a daze. They had nearly a week to get ready for the finals. Coach Anderson worked them each evening at their home field, stressing the fundamentals, practicing bunting, base stealing. Ethan and Michael worked for hours around second base, perfecting the double play. Coach constantly stressed to them of the importance with keeping runners off second base. They worked on several pick-off plays designed to catch runners off the bags, with Carlos or Matthew giving the signals. By the end of the week, they felt better than ever, positive, and ready to play.
Josh was well rested and scheduled to pitch the first game. They had drawn a team from the Midwest for the opener of the series and as usual, the Springdale buses rolled in filled with parents, relatives, and friends of the Cougars.
On the way to Williamsport, Michael had the sick feeling that their luck could not hold out. It seemed almost impossible that a team could go on winning against opposition like this, but still one team had to do it, this one team eventually emerging from the tournament, champions of the Little League World Series.
He sat with Coach Anderson part of the way on the bus and asked the Cougar coach, “You really think we have a chance, Coach? There will be fifteen other teams down in Williamsport, the best in this country and the world.”
Coach shrugged. “They’re as much worried about us as we are about them,” he smiled. “Remember, we are regional champions too, and we had to fight just as hard to get here.”
He added, “They put their pants on the very same way we do, one leg at a time. However, every team needs a certain amount of good luck or good breaks, whatever you want to call it, to reach the top and win this championship. I do not think we have used up our bank of luck or breaks yet.”
The next day, as Michael walked out on the beautiful Little League World Series diamond with the other Cougar players, the crowd giving them all a big hand, he hoped that luck would remain with them. It was two hundred and twenty-five feet from home plate to the fences, yet it looked so much bigger. The park could hold 45,000 fans. This was unbelievable and so surreal. They’d drawn the regional champions from California in this opening game, the first pairing of the eight U. S. teams, and as Michael watched the California boys working out on the field his hopes sank a little. They looked a lot bigger and moved effortlessly.
“The bigger they come,” Jake said succinctly, “the harder they fall.” Both teams had their batting and fielding practice, and then the Springdale Cougars took the field with the Las Colinas Warhawks at bat. Josh Miller picked up the new ball, rubbed it a little, and began his warm up pitches.
The first Warhawk batter stepped up to the plate and the crowd roared. Josh threw and the Warhawk slashed a single to left field. Michael moved over to second to take the throw in and he saw the look on Ethan’s face.
“They’re too big,” Ethan was thinking. “They’re too good.”
“Let’s go,” Michael snapped. “Let’s get two.”
Josh kept the ball away from the second batter as he tried to bunt and the batter looped a foul into the air, which Carlos caught.
The next Warhawk batter hit a rattling ground ball down to short that Ethan fielded and flipped to Michael covering second. Michael’s snap throw to first nailed the runner for a double play and they trotted in to the bench, the crowd giving them a big hand.
“Just like any other game,” Coach Anderson grinned as they came into the dugout. “Nine players are on each side. Each team gets three outs each inning.”
The Warhawk pitcher was another tall boy, a right-hander with curly blond hair, and a great fastball. Like Jimmy Ray Bell, he consistently clocked pitches at 70 miles per hour, and from 46 feet away, it was the equivalent of a big league pitcher throwing 100 miles per hour. He mowed down the Cougar batters for three innings until Carlos Rodriguez tagged him for a double in the fourth. Carlos advanced to third on Andy Wilson’s infield out. Coach Anderson then signaled for the squeeze play with Daniel Garcia, the team’s best bunter, at the plate.
Carlos started in with the pitcher’s first movement, barreling down the base path like a freight train. The Warhawk coach yelled in alarm as the pitcher threw the ball. Daniel calmly poked his bat at the ball, bunting it out toward first, and Carlos was in with the first run of the Series.
The Warhawks came back to tie it up in the fifth on two hits and an error by Ethan at short. Josh struck out two men in a row to end the inning and the crowd gave him a standing ovation as he walked off the field to the dugout. The fans saw that Josh had not wilted under fire and Michael saw the respect in Carlos’s eyes after Josh struck out that second batter, bearing down with everything he had and then giving it a little extra.
“Let’s get another run,” Josh said quietly as he sat down in the dugout. “That’s all they’re getting off of me.”
The Cougars did not get the run until the sixth and last inning of the ball game. With two outs, the bases empty and the crowd beginning to anticipate an extra inning game, Matthew blasted a ball over the left field fence and the Cougars had made the first jump in the tournament bracket.
The team mobbed the grinning redhead as he stepped on home plate. It was 2 to 1 for the Cougars.
Coach Anderson said in the dressing room, “That’s one. There are only four un-defeated regional champions left after
today in our bracket. After tomorrow there will only be two.”
“Wonder who they’ll be?” Daniel murmured.
“Who do you think?” Matthew growled. “The Cougars and somebody else, that’s who.”
They drew a team from the great state of Louisiana in the second pairing and Coach Anderson had to start Willie Brown on the mound. Willie had come a long way since the opening of the Little League season. He had gained confidence in himself and believed he could hold top-ranking Little League teams. Coach Anderson had worked with him faithfully all during the season to help him develop control and poise on the mound.
This game was over quickly. The Cougar bats exploded for seven first inning runs and Willie, with his comfortable lead, remained calm, stayed relaxed, and pitched a nice four-hit shutout. Michael could not believe it. He pinched himself to make sure this was not a dream. He felt the pinch. Three more games.
In their third pairing, they drew a team from Florida. The winner of this game would have to wait for the winner of the loser bracket to play again for a spot in the Little League World Series Championship game. Coach started Cris Martinez and for good reason. This line-up of Florida players had four left-handed hitters. It was a beautiful call as Cris worked with Carlos, inside and out, his fastball spot on and his big curve breaking across two planes. Jake Jones and Tyrone Johnson each had a home run and the Florida boys fell out of the winning bracket.
Now, the Cougars could take a little time off and they needed it, especially the pitching staff. In the Little League rulebook, a pitcher could only pitch 85 pitches per game and if a pitcher threw more than 66 pitches, he was required to rest four days. Studies had determined the pitch count and rest rules were reducing the risk of shoulder injury to Little League pitchers between ages eight to thirteen by fifty per cent. You certainly kept track of the pitch count because you did not want to risk injury or lose a game due to protest. Tyrone’s mother had kept track faithfully, all season long, of the pitch counts for the Cougars. After all, a team could lose a game from a later protest if they did not adhere to the pitch count rule.
Who would they play next was what Michael wondered when he turned off the light in his hotel room. He knew the two teams playing for the right to play the Cougars again were playing each other at that moment. Coach had imposed an early curfew and he did not want any of the players watching the game or even reading the newspapers. His reasoning for shutting them in was to keep them focused. Michael guessed coach was right again. After all, it was hard enough to focus without any added drama. “Which team will we draw,” Michael said silently as he dozed off to sleep.
The next morning the Cougars heard during the team breakfast. They would be playing the Louisiana team again. Jake promptly snorted, “We will just have to show those boys how good we are once again.” Of course, everyone understood because the Cougars had not lost a game yet, that this team from Louisiana, who called themselves the Tigers, would have to beat the Cougars two straight games. Carlos said loudly, so all could hear him in a disguised Louisiana Cajun accent,
“Wid our pitcha’s en our hitta’s, it just aaaaaain’t gonna happen!”
Michael realized at that moment this team had become one unit. The players were completely relaxed, yet spirited. Matthew sat next to Ethan while Carlos sat between Josh and Jake. They all could not wait to play ball.
Coach chose to start Willie Brown on the mound again against the Tigers from Louisiana. Willie had beaten them once with a superbly pitched game. Could he do it again? In the first game, Willie received a healthy supply of runs. Would the Cougars be able to do that for him this game?
Willie was nervous at the start, walking the first two men to face him. Two hits followed and the Tigers went up 2 to 0. Coach Anderson called for time and went out to speak to Willie. Michael trotted in also, and they discussed the matter rather calmly.
Coach said, “It’s up to you, Willie. If you think you can get them, go ahead.”
Willie Brown looked at Michael nervously. Out in the bullpen Cris Martinez and Joseph Williams were warming up. Michael said quietly,
“Don’t quit on us, Willie.”
Willie bit his lips. “Okay,” he murmured. “I’ll get them, coach.”
He continued to pitch, working himself out of the jam by giving up no more runs. A very grim and very determined Cougar squad came in to bat.
They got two runs immediately, Ethan and Michael singling and Tyrone driving them in with a long double. They added another run in the third inning, giving them a 3 to 2 lead, with Willie Brown working nicely after the bad start. In the fourth, Jake hit his second World Series home run and the Cougars had a comfortable 4 to 2 lead.
Willie held the Tigers through the fifth and into the sixth and final inning. The two-run lead really felt good now. However, when the sixth inning started, the Tigers came to life again. Two hits in a row put the tying runs on the bases.
Willie Brown got one man to pop up to Carlos, but the following batter rifled a single to left, scoring one runner, making the score 4 to 3. There was another conference on the mound, but Willie was determined now, anxious to fight on. On the Cougar bench, Josh was yelling to him to stay in.
Coach Anderson said, “Okay, Willie. You are the man. We are behind you. Let’s get it done.”
Willie’s face was sullen and drawn as he toed the rubber to pitch to the next batter. With runners on first and third with only one out, Michael hoped and prayed for a double-play ball; but Willie struck out the next batter, making it two away.
The Cougar infield was talking it up, chattering, everybody behind the courageous right-hander as he prepared to face the last batter. The Louisiana Tigers team was on the dugout steps, calling for that big base hit which would tie up the ball game.
Willie walked the batter after getting a three-two count on him. Now, with bases filled and two down, a contagious excitement moved quickly through the park.
Michael had a look at Willie Brown’s father in the seats behind the Cougar dugout. Mr. Brown looked nervous. However, Willie was not quitting. Gamely, he continued to fire the ball towards the plate, getting a strike on the batter, then another called strike on a beautiful curve ball. He had the batter in the hole with a 1-2 count. On his next pitch, the batter lifted a twisting ball toward short right field, along the foul line.
Michael started for it. Tyrone Johnson, playing first base, turned and sprinted after the ball. Jake tore in from his right field position, his chubby legs pumping like pistons, his baseball cap flying off his head.
The three players converged on the spinning fly ball that appeared to be falling fair just inside the first base line. Michael strained every muscle of his body, knowing the three runners on base had been running with contact and were sprinting around the bases for home with precious runs. Someone had to catch this ball.
He had a glimpse of Tyrone Johnson, covering lots of ground on his longs legs, and then Michael heard Tyrone yell loudly, “I got. I got it. IT’S MINE!”
Coach had taught them to yell loudly for each fly ball to prevent dangerous collisions on the field. Michael immediately pulled away and as he did so, he saw Jake still driving in, eyes glued on the ball in the air. Jake was not going to stop.
“Jake!” Michael screeched. “Nooooo!”
Jake did not hear him. Jake had not heard Tyrone Johnson’s cry, either. There was a lot of noise in the park, everybody in the stands on their feet, screaming. Tyrone lunged desperately at the ball, clutching it in his first baseman’s mitt, and then Jake hit him on a dead run.
The impact was sickening, two bodies colliding at full speed. Both boys twisted repeatedly on the turf, Tyrone clinging to the ball as if it were a diamond. He lay there on the turf, almost unconscious, head rolling from side to side.
Jake was moaning, rocking back and forth on his back, clutching his right leg. Tyrone had held the ball however, and the game was over, another win for the Cougars, but both players seemed to be badly hurt.
Michael crouched beside Tyrone Johnson first. His voice was choking as he spoke. He said,
“Tyrone, Tyrone! Are you all right?”
The crowd was quiet, very quiet as the players and coaches came running over, gathering ‘round them. The Para-medics arrived and after a brief examination of both boys, recommended they go to the local hospital for a more thorough examination. Tyrone was shaken up and incoherent from the collision while Jake’s right knee was hurting him so much that he could not walk on it.
Back at the hotel that evening where the team was staying, they waited dully for the news from the hospital. Coach Anderson had accompanied the two boys, along with their parents, and coach arrived just before dinner with the news.
“Fortunately, they are not badly hurt,” the Cougar coach told the group of silent boys. “The doctors were afraid Tyrone might have a concussion at first, but he seems to be coming along fine.” He will be okay after a few days rest. Jake should be walking as good as ever after a week or so. His knee is still swollen, but there is no cartilage damage. A bad sprain, that is all.”
“That’s great,” Michael managed to smile. “I’m so glad they were not seriously hurt.”
“Of course,” coach said, “they won’t be playing in the finals. Jake can’t run and the physician refuses to let Tyrone play for some time.”
Michael stared at the Cougar coach and then at the rest of the boys in the room. Here they were on the eve of the Little League World Series Championship game and the Cougar’s were going to have to play without the services of two very important starters, their two home run hitters.
No one said anything for some time, each boy thinking his own thoughts; then little Daniel Garcia put it into words for them.
“I don’t care about them not playing,” Daniel murmured. “I’m just glad they weren’t seriously hurt.”
SHOCK AND AWE
